Seattle, WA, USA, November 26th, 2025, FinanceWire
Dr. Niran Al-Agba, a practicing general pediatrician with more than two decades of clinical experience, today announced the nationwide expansion of her second-opinion medical review service for suspected child-abuse cases. The expansion comes as her work now spans 23 states and continues to grow rapidly through attorney referrals and word-of-mouth. Her expansion reflects the escalating demand for accurate, unbiased, real-world pediatric expertise in a system where misdiagnosis and misinterpretation are alarmingly common.
Dr. Al-Agba’s work has revealed a staggering diagnostic discrepancy rate in child-abuse evaluations, with approximately 65 percent of the medical assumptions she reviews containing inaccuracies significant enough to alter the trajectory of a case. These discrepancies often involve misinterpreted injuries, overlooked medical conditions, normal childhood behaviors wrongly labeled as suspicious, and contextual factors related to poverty or family stress that are mistakenly elevated to evidence of abuse. Her findings underscore an urgent national need for independent medical expertise capable of correcting errors early, before they result in unnecessary family separation.
A Lifeline for Families Facing One of the Most Terrifying Experiences of Their Lives
Across the United States, one in three children will be investigated by Child Protective Services before age eighteen, placing millions of families at risk of life-altering consequences based on medical conclusions that may be incomplete or incorrect. Many of the families most affected are marginalized, low-income, immigrants, or people of color.
“When a family is accused of child abuse, the system moves extremely fast. A single medical misinterpretation can result in a child being removed within hours,” said Dr. Al-Agba. “My job is to ensure the medical evidence is correct before the state makes a decision that could devastate a family forever.”
Her service provides a comprehensive second-opinion medical review, which includes examining all medical records, imaging, lab results, clinical notes, timelines, and injury patterns. She determines whether the findings truly support abuse or whether they reflect benign medical explanations that are often missed in child abuse pediatrics. Her reports give attorneys immediate clarity, grounding their legal strategy in a medically sound foundation.
The Only General Pediatrician in the U.S. Doing This Work at Scale
Dr. Al-Agba is widely recognized for offering something the system lacks: real-world pediatric expertise from a practicing general pediatrician who sees children every day. She is the only general pediatrician in the country providing this service at scale, a differentiation that has made her the go-to medical expert for attorneys nationwide.
Unlike subspecialists who may rely on academic or forensic perspectives, Dr. Al-Agba brings two decades of hands-on clinical insight, allowing her to distinguish normal childhood injuries from truly concerning patterns. Her independence from the child abuse pediatrics system also ensures evaluations free from institutional bias or pressure.
“It makes a significant difference when the person reviewing the case understands what real childhood injuries look like, what real families face, and how children behave outside of textbooks,” Dr. Al-Agba said. “That grounded perspective is often missing in these evaluations.”
Work Already Quietly Transforming Cases Nationwide
Though most dependency cases remain sealed, the impact of her work is substantial. Attorneys frequently report cases being dismissed, substantially reduced, or redirected after her second opinion clarifies the true medical picture. Many of these outcomes prevent traumatic and unnecessary family separations.
Dr. Al-Agba handles approximately 100 cases per year, collaborating closely with attorneys across 23 states. Nearly all her referrals come organically through legal networks and attorney listservs sharing her past case results, her Seattle Times profile, and her proven ability to identify early misinterpretations.
Her expanding national presence also includes involvement in high-profile cases, including a Pennsylvania case featured in the New York Times/Serial “Preventionist” podcast. She has conducted background interviews for major media outlets including NBC and the New York Times, reflecting the growing recognition of her expertise.
Addressing a Systemic Problem with Systemic Scale
Child abuse pediatrics, a relatively new subspecialty, has been shown to produce errors at an alarming rate. Many findings labeled as suspicious can be explained by medical conditions, developmental patterns, family context, or the realities of poverty.
Dr. Al-Agba’s work challenges these systemic issues, not by opposing the system itself, but by ensuring precision and truth within it.
“This is not about fighting the system,” Dr. Al-Agba noted. “It is about correcting misunderstandings before they destroy families.”
Immediate Need for Early Intervention
Dr. Al-Agba emphasizes that timing is critical in these cases. Early medical misinterpretations rapidly snowball into legal conclusions that are difficult to reverse.
“Once an incorrect assumption makes it into a report or court document, it becomes extremely hard to undo,” Dr. Al-Agba said. “The earlier I’m involved, the better the chances of keeping a family together.”
Families Deserve Accuracy, Dignity, and Compassion
Beyond the medical facts, Dr. Al-Agba centers her work on compassion and equity. She believes poverty and hardship are not crimes, and she advocates for dignity and justice for families who are too often misunderstood.
“What matters most is truth,” Dr. Al-Agba said. “Truth, compassion, and context. Families deserve all three.”
About Dr. Niran Al-Agba
Dr. Niran Al-Agba is a practicing general pediatrician with more than twenty years of experience caring for children and families. She leads a nationally expanding second-opinion medical review service focused on suspected child-abuse cases, providing independent evaluations that correct medical misunderstandings before they result in wrongful family separation. She works with attorneys in 23 states and handles approximately 100 cases annually. Dr. Al-Agba is recognized as the only general pediatrician in the United States doing this work at scale, providing grounded, real-world pediatric insight often missing in child abuse evaluations. Her work has been featured in the Seattle Times, NBC interviews, and high-profile national cases, including those covered by the New York Times and Serial. Her mission is to ensure every family receives a fair, accurate, and compassionate medical assessment.
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